Thompson Ridge with Susan, Zeke, Sadie and Sweetiee

Susan and I talked about hiking somewhere local today if I wasn't working.  She had morning errands and we had agreed to meeting midday after it was clear by 8:30am that I wasn't working today.   She messaged me shortly after 10am, after I had just pulled some weeds from the back yard, and asked if I would be ready in ten minutes to hike Thompson Ridge.  She had caught me off-guard!  I was covered in seed heads, but in 20 minutes I was parked in a nearby restaurant parking lot waiting for her, so that we could drive in two vehicles to the trailhead.  She had left Allie at home for the same reason I left Minnie at home.  It was 71F, clear sky, and the warmth would have been too much for Minnie.

Little did I know that we would spend nearly four hours hiking 3.8 miles!

This was Susan's first time up the ridgeline, so we took it easy.   She said she had always avoided the area because her Border Patrol neighbor had warned her years ago that this was a smuggling route.  This was especially true 15 years ago when we moved to this area, and is probably still true at night today.  I've noticed far less trash in the canyon since the 2011 fire, though, and less daytime Border Patrol presence.

Susan had no trouble with the 1100' elevation gain in those 1.6 miles going uphill.  Her energy is to be admired.  I hope I can still climb mountains when I am her age. We stopped for a water break for the dogs half-way up the hill.  I had only taken a half gallon and the dogs had finished it all in the end.

 

We took our time on this hike, savoring the views while the dogs rested in any shade they could find under scrub oak, manzanitas, or large boulders.

Winds weren't blowing on the ridge, but it did start to cloud over and the breeze picked up when we were on the upper ridge exploring a social trail.  I had always wanted to see where this trail goes, but we ended up turning around when it got too precarious, too many loose rocks near a steep slope.  I explored the trail to its end in a narrow notch.  An old grey sweatshirt was hanging on the branch of a burned-out tree, perhaps indicating to smugglers that this is where the hidden trail continued.

Susan noted that she didn't see any fresh foot prints on this social trail.  I didn't see any new trash except for a sun-burned water bottle tied to a bandana.  We did see new water bottles in the drainage farther down the steep grade, evidence that this pass is still being used by border crossers.

Susan brought a salami sandwich which all three dogs showed an interest in.  They finished off the Liver Chips I bought from Carmen at the Doggie Dip on Fort Huachuca in mid September. I didn't bring any snacks for myself since the hike was only 3.8 miles.

Coming down required careful footing due to the steep grade and loose soil.  We both slipped a few times, but nothing major.

When we got back to the cars, Susan was willing to walk down to the hidden grave site of an old homesteader, whose grave is hidden under a thick grove of oaks.  Our final destination was the springs, so that the dogs could refresh themselves and cool off their paws.  The springs are finally coming back, after having been buried by a rockslide after the fire and monsoon of 2011.

We sat by the springs for a while.  Susan told stories about her childhood in Birmingham, England. Even as a kid she had a zest for walking in the woods and exploring (so did I!), much to the chagrin of her father.  She and I get along so well because we had similar likes even as kids.  She had the English central hills and day trips with her parents to Wales; I had day trips with my mother and her friend Gerta to the Indiana Dunes.

We both went our separate ways by 4pm.  I took that opportunity to drive around The Oaks housing area, where over two years ago I'd take the dogs for walks until that one day I accidentally left Sweetie out there after an especially tiring day for me.  (I now walk them along the forest service maintenance road that is closer to the house).  The gate still hasn't been installed yet, but there are now three homes in the subdivision.  Two year ago a second one was being built.  A year ago a third was getting started, and now I saw the foundation of a fourth house going up.  There are 42 plots for sale.  I wonder when the gate goes up and that little area is forever closed off to non-residents?  I noticed a sign now stating only residents are allowed in the area.  I'd like to sneak in a few more walks there before access is completely closed off.  Some of the best views of Miller and Carr Peak are from this area. Sammy had his last walk there in March of 2017, two months before he died.  The roads have been repaved to look newer.  The area is slowly transforming.